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Graphics cards and large monitors , ,compatibility

rxkevco

Posted 10 February 2009 - 06:22 AM

I have a new 26" monitor and 2 pcs, one with an HD4850 and the other with a 9600GT graphics card.
Both cards are 512mb ram (i think ) , , , ,

My question is , , ,does having a card with only 512mb ram have a negative affect on a larger monitor ? what i mean to say is , , does monitor screen size have anything to do with how well a card will work, , smallish monitor and HD4850 , , grat picture and great functioning, , ,26" monitor and HD4850 , , poorer quality and less functioning, , ie?/ does having a huge monitor beat the crap out of a graphics card ? ?

Hope someone understands where i am coming from , , the only reason i am asking is, , ,my quad core pc with vista x64, and 6gb 1066 mhz ram playing a dvd, doesnt look as clear or as good with the new 26" monitor as it did with my older 19" monitor ? ? It could be just me thinking that its not as clear, , or it could actually be not as good.

Would appreciate any thoughts or advice, ,

Many thanks, , kev

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Ferrari

Posted 12 February 2009 - 02:18 PM

Ferrari

PC SURGEON

Member

1,939 posts

Hi Kev,

I am no expert, but I was told by a staff volunteer once that if I don't do gaming, then the mb size of my graphics card doesn't matter at all. I run dual monitors on a Gateway that the card only has 16mb. Everything looks fine there.

In my experience with large monitors/TVs...they are so big, that up close you can kind of see swirling or the pixels moving sort of. I would bet if you stand a bit away from your new 26" the picture will look real nice. With it being your computer monitor, you might be too close in a way. Thats just something I noticed when buying my 37" LG, standing close to all of them TVs in the store, the picture looked terrible I thought...same thing in my home.

rxkevco

Posted 12 February 2009 - 02:34 PM

rxkevco

Member

Topic Starter

Member

461 posts

Hi JR ,
You are right , , (more or less ! )i have moved the monitor away to the back of the desk and it does appear fine now, but only with the pc with the 9600gt graphics card. The original pc with the HD4850 that prompted the post, still seems to be a little less clear. To add to that, today, the monitor appeared to be showing a screen for a few mins, then the screen would dissapear for a few secs then come back on again.

As the other pc is fine, ,it appears that my newer HD4850 may be the faulty culprit.
I think it will be going back to the shop in a day or two for replacement as it seems to be the loose link in the chain.

Ferrari

Posted 12 February 2009 - 03:05 PM

Ferrari

PC SURGEON

Member

1,939 posts

Yeah, I'm not there so its really hard for me to tell. But if what you suspect is faulty is supposed to be better, then take it back for repair or replacement whatever. That's just common sense LOL. =)

I wonder if they make monitors or TVs that are very large that apply to someone using it up close or that has a small living room. Because I know, as you have confirmed, the closer the worse the picture gets. Maybe if you pay high dollar that is corrected or better, I don't know.

stettybet0

Posted 13 February 2009 - 09:51 PM

stettybet0

Trusted Tech

Technician

2,579 posts

A monitor's physical size has nothing to do with the quality of the image displayed or how stressful the rendering of said image is on the graphics card. However, size is related to both of those things via screen resolution.

The higher the screen resolution (the number of pixels being rendered on the screen by the graphics card), the more stressful it is on the graphics card. This is regardless of the monitor's size. A 17" monitor with a 1024x768 resolution will be just as stressful on a graphics card as a 19" monitor with a 1024x768 resolution. By the same token, a 17" monitor with a 1280x960 resolution will be more stressful than a 17" monitor with a 1024x768 resolution. However, unless you are doing something graphically intense like gaming or some sort of 3d rendering, the impact on a modern graphics card is very minute. Even the weakest ones can still fully handle even the highest resolutions when doing typical computer usage.

The image quality is based on a number of things. One is the pixels per inch. If two monitors have the same resolution, but one is smaller, it will have more pixels per inch, and thus a sharper picture. The other factors affecting image quality are things like contrast, brightness, response time, and other things that depend on the quality of the monitor you have purchased. A cheap monitor typically lacks in these areas compared to a more expensive monitor.

So, now to finally answer your question. Why does your new 26" monitor have a worse image than your 19" monitor? One reason could be that the 26" monitor has less pixels per inch. A common resolution for a 26" monitor is 1920x1200. That would give the 26" monitor about 88615 pixels per inch. A common resolution for a 19" monitor is 1680x1050. That would give the 19" monitor about 92842 pixels per inch. So, assuming I'm right about these resolutions, the 19" monitor may indeed have a better picture than the 26" monitor. When you factor in the other factors I talked about (contrast, brightness, etc.), that may further accentuate the difference in quality.

However, you state that your 9600GT seems to have a better display on the 26" monitor. This leads me to believe that your HD4850 may have been displaying a non-native resolution on your 26" monitor. A native resolution is how many pixels the screen actually has. You can always display a lower resolution than the native resolution (by combining several pixels into a bigger pixel), but image quality will suffer. So, when using the 9600GT, you should go into Display Settings (right-click on the desktop > Properties > Settings) and see what resolution is being used. Then, hook up the monitor to the HD4850 and see what resolution is being used. If it is different, change the resolution to match what the 9600GT uses.